THE LEBANESE NATIONAL AGRICULTURE PLAN  
    OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

    CPI The Lebanese Center for Public Information
    NGO registered at the Ministry of Interior under reference 450 AD

    Tel. 04 521832 Mobile: 03 461450         Email: george@cpi-lebanon.org       
     website:http://www.cpi-lebanon.org

    Date:3/25/2009

    The Lebanese National Agriculture Plan

    CPI, the Lebanese Center for Public information is proud to introduce its National
    Agriculture Plan project for a measured and steady development of that vital sector
    through effective and long term collaboration between the public and the private interests.

    A.        What we aim to achieve in the short term (April to June 2009):

    1.        Have the 2006 National Agricultural Plan examined by, at least, 100 and at best
    500 stakeholders during the month of April 2009.
    2.        Have the Plan updated by the Ministry of Agriculture, then redrafted in May to
    include the legitimate and the justified observations and the demands that will be
    formulated in April 2009 by the stakeholders.
    3.        Support the Ministry of Agriculture in presenting the updated National Agricultural
    Plan to the Council of Ministers by end June 2009

    B.        What we seek to realize in the long run:

    1.        Develop, through the present team of six university student researchers engaged
    in this project (see our website http://www.cpi-lebanon.org) a new attitude and mentality
    among the youth in Lebanon to encourage them to study, watch and whenever
    necessary, question the actions of their government. In other words we aim to persuade
    them to fully exercise their role as responsible and committed citizens.
    2.        Lobby for the introduction in the curriculum of all the Lebanese public and the
    private universities some courses on public internal and external governance and the
    role that Civil Society should play in that domain.

    C.        How we intend to proceed:

    1.        Carefully prepare and organize a stakeholder’s workshop to explain and launch
    the National Agricultural Plan Project that is described in section “A” above.

    2.        In April: Run a number of consecutive weekly workshops to gather some selected
    members of twenty groups of stakeholders in the sector of Agriculture. Explain the project
    to them, hand over to them the 2006 National Agricultural Plan and ask them to offer their
    observations and their demands. In particular, the stakeholders will be asked to identify
    the projects that, in their opinion, should be undertaken by the private sector, limiting the
    role of the State to monitor, supervise and regulate the projects.

    3.        In May: After receiving all the remarks of the stakeholders, sift through them and
    tabulate and list them all, then call in for another workshop to evaluate them, and to
    adopt the ones that will be approved by the attendant majority.

    4.        In June: Redraft and update the 2006 National Agricultural Plan to reflect the
    combined visions of the Administration and the stakeholders and present it to the
    Council of Ministers.
    We earnestly ask all the responsible citizens and the NGOs concerned to strongly
    support us in this worthy project.

    Kindly email us back your remarks and observations to George@cpi-lebanon.org.

    The Lebanese Center for Public Information
    George Sabat (Director)